virology aspects of the pandemic but merely to original research results of the economic (how to restore economies after the lockdowns), social (the uneven spread of the infections over social groups-poverty) and the environmental (impact of air pollution and meteorological characteristics on the infections caused the virus) aspects. It is imperative analyzing the consequences of this sustainability analysis, both at the short and the long term. The purpose of this issue is to call for scientific original papers on the role that the environment could play in transmission, pathogenesis, and severity of COVID-19 and/or its related mortality. Moreover, the aim is to also reviewing the interaction between this pandemic and sustainability and planetary health, including climate change, biodiversity, and urban built environment. Reviews on the lessons of the current pandemic for long-term sustainability, urban built environment, and planetary health are also invited.
Since 2000, the shrimp industry expands at a fast rate in the coastal areas of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Shrimp farming is known for its negative impact on the coastal environment. However, other human interventions like agriculture and urbanization also deteriorate the coastal environment. The land cover changes between 1968 and 2003 were determined and analyzed for the Cai Nuoc district, Ca Mau Province, Vietnam, using photos from 1968, 1992 (aerial photographs), 1997/98 (Spot) and 2003 (Landsat). It was clear that the district underwent serious land cover changes: deforestation between 1968 and 1992, with a simultaneous increase in rice land; a rapid decline in rice acreage from 1997 onwards, and, simultaneously, a blitz-increase in shrimp farming area. The forest area declined by 75% between 1968 and 2003. About 40% of this loss could be attributed to shrimp farming, while the remaining 60% was attributed to needs for agricultural land. Still, at present, shrimp farming is the major source of mangrove loss in the district. In 1999 shrimp farms covered 6.374 ha, in 2000 they covered 61.049 ha of the Cai Nuoc area. The swap from rice cultivation to shrimp farming was most-probably driven by households' hopes for a higher income. It must be feared that the shrimp industry will have a negative impact on the environment (e.g. salinization) and on the livelihood of the district's households. In 1968 saline water covered 219.9 km 2 , in 1992, 1997/98 and 2003 the saline surface water area covered 92.4, 135.2 and 835.0 km 2 , respectively.
Summary. Unsynchronized cells of an essentially diploid strain of female Chinese hamster cells derived from lung tissue (CHL) were laser-UV-microirradiated (2 = 257 nm) in the nucleus either at its central part or at its periphery. After 7-9 h postincubation with 0.5 mM caffeine, chromosome preparations were made in situ. Twenty-one and 29 metaphase spreads, respectively, with partial chromosome shattering (PCS) obtained after microirradiation at these two nuclear sites, were Q-banded and analyzed in detail. A positive correlation was observed between the frequency of damage of chromosomes and both their DNA content and length at metaphase. No significant difference was observed between the frequencies of damage obtained for individual chromosomes at either site of microirradiation. The frequency of joint damage of homologous chromosomes was low as compared to nonhomologous ones. Considerable variation was noted in different cells in the combinations of jointly shattered chromosomes. Evidence which justifies an interpretation of these data in terms of an interphase arrangement of chromosome territories is discussed. Our data strongly argue against somatic pairing as a regular event, and suggest a considerable variability of chromosome positions in different nuclei. However, present data do not exclude the possibility of certain non-random chromosomal arrangements in CHL-nuclei. The interphase chromosome distribution revealed by these experiments is compared with centromere-centromere, centromere-center and angle analyses of metaphase spreads and the relationship between interphase and metaphase arrangements of chromosomes is discussed.
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